The electrochemical reduction of CO2 (ECO2R) is a promising method for reducing CO2 emissions and producing carbon-neutral fuels if long-term durability of electrodes can be achieved by identifying and addressing electrode degradation mechanisms. This work investigates the degradation of gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) in a flowing, alkaline CO2 electrolyzer via the formation of carbonate deposits on the GDE surface. These carbonate deposits were found to impede electrode performance after only 6 h of operation at current densities ranging from -50 to -200 mA cm-2. The rate of carbonate deposit formation on the GDE surface was determined to increase with increasing electrolyte molarity and became more prevalent in K+-containing as opposed to Cs+-containing electrolytes. Electrolyte composition and concentration also had significant effects on the morphology, distribution, and surface coverage of the carbonate deposits. For example, carbonates formed in K+-containing electrolytes formed concentrated deposit regions of varying morphology on the GDE surface, while those formed in Cs+-containing electrolytes appeared as small crystals, well dispersed across the electrode surface. Both deposits occluding the catalyst layer surface and those found within the microporous layer and carbon fiber substrate of the electrode were found to diminish performance in ECO2R, leading to rapid loss of CO production after ?50% of the catalyst layer surface was occluded. Additionally, carbonate deposits reduced GDE hydrophobicity, leading to increased flooding and internal deposits within the GDE substrate. Electrolyte engineering-based solutions are suggested for improved GDE durability in future work.Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are severely hindered by the low sulfur utilization and short cycling life, especially at high rates. One of the effective solutions to address these problems is to improve the sulfiphilicity of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and the lithiophilicity of the lithium anode. However, it is a great challenge to simultaneously optimize both aspects. Herein, by incorporating the merits of strong absorbability and high conductivity of SnS with good catalytic capability of ZnS, a ZnS-SnS heterojunction coated with a polydopamine-derived N-doped carbon shell (denoted as ZnS-SnS@NC) with uniform cubic morphology was obtained and compared with the ZnS-SnS2@NC heterostructure and its single-component counterparts (SnS@NC and SnS2@NC). Theoretical calculations, ex situ XANES, and in situ Raman spectrum were utilized to elucidate rapid anchoring-diffusion-transformation of LiPSs, inhibition of the shuttling effect, and improvement of the sulfur electrochemistry of bimetal ZnS-SnS heterostructure at the molecular level. When applied as a modification layer coated on the separator, the ZnS-SnS@NC-based cell with optimized lithiophilicity and sulfiphilicity enables desirable sulfur electrochemistry, including high reversibility of 1149 mAh g-1 for 300 cycles at 0.2 C, high rate performance of 661 mAh g-1 at 10 C, and long cycle life with a low fading rate of 0.0126% each cycle after 2000 cycles at 4 C. Furthermore, a favorable areal capacity of 8.27 mAh cm-2 is maintained under high sulfur mass loading of 10.3 mg cm-2. This work furnishes a feasible scheme to the rational design of bimetal sulfides heterostructures and boosts the development of other electrochemical applications.Metal oxides are considered suitable candidates for thermoelectric materials owing to their high chemical stabilities. The formation of ordered nanopores within these materials, which decreases thermal conductivity (κ), has attracted significant interest. However, the electrical conductivity (σ) of reported nanoporous metal oxides is low, owing to electron scattering at the thin pore walls and many grain boundaries formed by small crystallites. Therefore, a novel synthesis method that can control pore walls while forming relatively large crystallites to reduce κ and retain σ is required. In this study, we used indium tin oxide (ITO), which is a typical example among metal oxides with high σ. Nanoporous ITOs with large crystallite sizes of several hundred nanometers and larger were successfully prepared using indium chloride as a source of indium. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ozanimod-rpc1063.html The pore sizes were varied using colloidal silica nanoparticles with different particle sizes as templates. The crystal phase and nanoporous structure of ITO were preserved after spark plasma sintering at 723 K and 80 MPa. The κ was significantly lower than that reported for bulk ITO due to the phonon scattering caused by the nanoporous structure and thin pore walls. There was a limited decrease in σ even with high porosity. These findings show that κ and σ are independently controllable through the precise control of the structure. The control of the thickness of the pore walls at tens of nanometers was effective for the selective scattering of phonons, while almost retaining electron mobility. The remarkable preservation of σ was attributed to the large crystallites that maintained paths for electron conduction and decreased electron scattering at the grain boundaries.Phase transformation dynamics and proton conduction properties are reported for cationic layer-featured coordination polymers derived from the combination of lanthanide ions (Ln3+) with nitrilo-tris(methylenephosphonic acid) (H6NMP) in the presence of sulfate ions. Two families of materials are isolated and structurally characterized, i.e., [Ln2(H4NMP)2(H2O)4](HSO4)2?nH2O (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Er, Yb; n = 4-5, Series I) and [Ln(H5NMP)]SO4?2H2O (Ln = Pr, Nd, Eu, Gd, Tb; Series II). Eu/Tb bimetallic solid solutions are also prepared for photoluminescence studies. Members of families I and II display high proton conductivity (10-3 and 10-2 S?cm-1 at 80 °C and 95% relative humidity) and are studied as fillers for Nafion-based composite membranes in PEMFCs, under operating conditions. Composite membranes exhibit higher power and current densities than the pristine Nafion membrane working in the range of 70-90 °C and 100% relative humidity and with similar proton conductivity.